This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UCSD chapter.
Meet Brianna Olsen, owner of her own solo photography business with a penchant for astrology, who also serves up coffee and lattes at Muir Woods with a smile.
Name: Brianna Olsen
Year: Sophomore
College: Muir College
Major: Communication with a double minor in Writing and Sociology
Tell us about your photography business: My photography business started when I was in high school, mainly as a fundraiser to help get me to college. Now that I’m here, my work has branched out in directions I never expected! When you move to a new city, you’re basically forced to start from scratch and just put yourself out there. So luckily, I was able to jump into the creative community here and meet new people who have opened so many other doors for me.
What are your goals with your photography business? My goal in photography is to learn and improve! Art is never something that is fully accomplished. There’s always room to grow, and once you’ve made it to a certain step, you just wanna keep going. That’s how you know you love it. You’re hooked on making progress!
What’s it like working at Woods? My favorite college experience, by far, has been working as a barista/student leader for Muir Woods Coffee Shop/Muir College Center. It’s taught me so much about community, from both the giving and receiving sides. My coworkers are like family to me, and I also get to interact with customers in surprisingly touching ways. I’m always humbled when someone tells me that I’ve made their day just by making them a drink and engaging in conversation.
What’s a typical day in the life of Brianna Olsen? A typical day for me? Wake up late. Roll downstairs to get coffee. Rush to finish homework I didn’t do the night before. Trip while running to class. Play it off by pretending I dropped something. Go to classes. Serve up lattes at the coffee shop. Spend a few hours editing photos and answering emails. Procrastinate doing homework until bedtime. Repeat.
What are some of your hobbies? I’m a huge astrology geek, so something I do for fun is look up friends’ birth charts and tell them about their horoscopes! People think I’m crazy, but it’s a lot of fun and really fascinating if you give it a chance.